The phrase 'the peerlessly charming Lady Yaoqing' that Yuanbao had mentioned surfaced in Mo Tiange's mind. Such beauty indeed lived up to those four words.
Her bearing was dignified, her countenance held not a hint of frivolity, yet one couldn't help but sense a coquettish charm that seemed to emanate from her very bones.
Mo Tiange couldn't help but wonder: if she were alive, how breathtakingly beautiful would she be? Probably a single smile would be enough to captivate every man under heaven. Zhong Muling really got the better end of the deal—no wonder he wasn't angry even after being tricked like that.
After a moment's thought, Mo Tiange brushed her sleeves and knelt down. "Great-Great-Grandfather above, this junior Mo Tiange received your guidance in childhood, inherited the Plain Maiden Art, and embarked on the immortal path. Now, having achieved some small success in cultivation, I followed your traces here. I never expected to behold your mortal remains. If I have offended in any way, I beg your forgiveness." She then kowtowed three times respectfully before rising.
The reason Mo Yaoqing's corpse hadn't decayed for five thousand years was likely due to some treasure on her person. Mo Tiange naturally wouldn't take it. Not only would such an act show great disrespect to this ancestor, but she herself couldn't bear to destroy such a beautiful body.
After offering her apologies, Mo Tiange looked around, searching for what she needed.
The floor was piled high with materials, but these weren't her goal. In terms of personal wealth, while she couldn't compare to a Nascent Soul cultivator like Mo Yaoqing, she still possessed many treasures. Her most important objective was the cultivation insights Mo Yaoqing had left behind.
She searched among the miscellaneous items for a while. The books and jade slips casually strewn about weren't it, though some contained extremely valuable techniques and secret records. Mo Tiange picked these up and set them aside, intending to make copies to take with her.
After searching for some time without finding what she wanted, Mo Tiange grew puzzled. Mo Yaoqing had recorded things clearly in her jade slip; it couldn't be missing. Then it occurred to her: the floor was piled with various materials, but there were no Magical Treasures or similar items. Could they be stored elsewhere?
Having searched the narrow cultivation chamber thoroughly and cross-referenced Mo Yaoqing's jade slip, confirming there was no hidden treasure room or the like, a flash of insight struck Mo Tiange. She turned her gaze to Mo Yaoqing herself.
Everywhere else had been searched. Only here remained—
"Great-Great-Grandfather, forgive this junior's impertinence." After bowing once more, Mo Tiange reached under the cushion Mo Yaoqing sat upon and felt around. Sure enough, she pulled out a Qiankun Bag.
Her heart leapt with joy. Taking the Qiankun Bag, she probed inside with her hand and was greatly astonished once more.
There were far too many Magical Treasures here!
Judging by the materials piled in the cultivation chamber, Mo Yaoqing's wealth was already extraordinary, but compared to the contents of this Qiankun Bag, it was nothing!
Mo Tiange took out these Magical Treasures and laid them out on the floor one by one. There were actually over twenty or thirty of them.
Moreover, these were all high-grade Magical Treasures. Given Mo Yaoqing's skill in artifact refinement, those she kept in her Qiankun Bag and brought to her final resting place were clearly not ordinary goods.
Mo Tiange felt overwhelmed, unsure where to even begin choosing. Her master, Dao Lord Jinghe, had always been generous with her, bestowing Magical Treasures of excellent quality. But compared to Mo Yaoqing's collection, they paled. It wasn't that Dao Lord Jinghe's wealth was inferior to Mo Yaoqing's, but what he gave her were standard treasures bestowed upon a junior, while Mo Yaoqing's were the prized possessions an Nascent Soul cultivator kept as her ultimate reserves. The two simply couldn't be compared.
She pondered for a long while, still unsure how to choose, and simply set them aside for now, continuing to search inside the Qiankun Bag. This search yielded many jade slips. She infused each with her Divine Sense, and her heart surged with wild delight.
Finally found! Among these jade slips was one containing Mo Yaoqing's cultivation insights, one recording her life experiences, and another specifically for any descendant who found this place.
"Cultivator who has come to this place, unknown whether you are a descendant of my Mo family or a disciple of Bixuan Pavilion. If you are neither, yet still found this place and broke my Seven Absolutes Formation, it is fate. Of the treasures in this cave abode, you may take one-fifth. Of the Magical Treasures in the Qiankun Bag, you may also choose five. Remember, do not be greedy. Otherwise, the restrictions in the cave abode will activate instantly and annihilate you!"
After reading this message, Mo Tiange broke out in a cold sweat. Given Mo Yaoqing's mastery of formations, she believed these words held no falsehood. The restrictions of this cave abode completely concealed this valley. If one merely flew overhead, not a trace could be detected, showing just how astonishing these restrictions were.
Fortunately, she wasn't greedy. If she had entered the cave abode and immediately, eagerly stored all these materials in her Qiankun Bag, the restrictions would likely have activated. Or if, upon seeing these Magical Treasures just now, she had taken them all, she would already be a corpse.
Steadying her mind, she continued reading. What followed were introductions to these Magical Treasures. She read carefully, comparing them to the actual items, and slowly made her selections.
The first Magical Treasure she chose was called the Spirit-Attracting Pearl. This pearl couldn't be used directly in Dharma Combat. Normally, it could store Spiritual Qi, and during Dharma Combat, it could be used like a spirit stone. However, the amount of Spiritual Qi this pearl could store was far greater than that of a spirit stone. Due to the special effects of the Primordial Chaos Art, Mo Tiange's Spiritual Qi consumption during Dharma Combat was somewhat less than that of an ordinary cultivator. But with the Spirit-Attracting Pearl, she wouldn't have to worry about Spiritual Qi issues in future battles.
The second was called the Taiji Eight Trigrams Diagram. This diagram depicted the Taiji and Eight Trigrams. When used, it encompassed all phenomena and had the effect of automatically regulating Spiritual Qi and balancing Yin and Yang. Its function was similar to the Dingxing Disk Mo Tiange had refined earlier, but its efficacy was countless times stronger. With this item, breaking the Seven Absolutes Formation would have been much simpler, and it wouldn't have consumed so much Spiritual Qi.
The third was the Lotus Bud Umbrella. This umbrella was exquisitely beautiful, painted with many pink lotus buds about to bloom. It was evident Mo Yaoqing was also a woman who loved beauty. Mo Yaoqing stated that when this umbrella was opened, no poison or demonic aura could invade one's surroundings. Moreover, it would automatically attack enemies. It was the best Magical Treasure when facing demonic creatures.
The fourth was named the Lingxiao Ruyi. This was an offensive Magical Treasure. The several items Mo Tiange had chosen earlier were all auxiliary tools for Dharma Combat, and her Heaven and Earth Fan also prioritized defense over offense. So now she chose an offensive Magical Treasure. This treasure contained astonishing Spiritual Qi. When thrown, it could cause a massive explosion of surrounding Spiritual Qi, dealing tremendous impact to enemies.
For the final piece, she thought for a long time before selecting a teleportation Magical Treasure: the Shrinking Earth Ruler. Back when escaping from Cloud Mist Mountain, Qin Xi had once given her a magical tool he'd taken from the Cloud Mist Sect: the Earth-Escape Ruler. During the Foundation Establishment stage, that tool was excellent for fleeing. But after forming her Core, in Dharma Combat with others, enemies' Divine Sense and speed were countless times stronger than in Foundation Establishment, making that tool less effective. Now, obtaining this Shrinking Earth Ruler not only allowed teleportation but also enhanced speed. Combined with her Cloud-Treading Boots, it was a sharp weapon for escape.
She no longer placed all her hopes on the Void Heaven Realm. Ren Yu-Feng's experience had taught her that her Void Heaven Realm could occasionally fail. Moreover, entering the Void Heaven Realm required several breaths of time. In Dharma Combat between high-level cultivators, those few breaths could often directly determine life and death!
With the Magical Treasures chosen, Mo Tiange copied all of Mo Yaoqing's books and jade slips, whether useful or not, and stored them in her Qiankun Bag—it said she couldn't take one-fifth, but she only made copies and didn't take the originals. That wasn't excessive, right?
As for the materials piled all over the floor, she selected some rare and uncommon ones. Fortunately, she had plenty of materials herself, so she didn't need to agonize over it too much.
After collecting everything, Mo Tiange placed the remaining Magical Treasures and jade slips back into Mo Yaoqing's Qiankun Bag, stuffed it under the cushion, and restored it to its original state. This way, if any Bixuan Pavilion disciples found their way here in the future, they would undergo the same trial.
Having completed all this, Mo Tiange knelt once more before Mo Yaoqing's corpse. "Junior Mo Tiange, having received Great-Great-Grandfather's gifts, is endlessly grateful. I offer my thanks here."
After kowtowing, she carefully retreated from Mo Yaoqing's cultivation chamber. The moment she stepped out, she saw a restriction suddenly appear at the chamber's entrance, sealing it shut.
Mo Tiange was stunned, then immediately realized: it must be that with the Seven Absolutes Formation outside broken, the restriction on this cultivation chamber had been temporarily lifted. Now that she had exited, the restriction automatically restored itself.
She felt both shock and regret. The shock was because, knowing much about the Dao of formations, she understood that setting up a powerful formation wasn't difficult, but having it automatically restore after being broken was quite challenging. This meant that so-called 'breaking the formation' was merely a trial for juniors. Mo Yaoqing's mastery of formations far surpassed her own. Fortunately, she had copied all of Mo Yaoqing's jade slips and books. By studying them slowly, she should be able to learn her formation secrets.
The regret was because she hadn't planned to leave this island and return immediately. She had only exited the cultivation chamber thinking it somewhat disrespectful to study directly inside with Mo Yaoqing's remains sitting there. She never expected that by exiting, she had implicitly confirmed her selections, and the restriction had restored itself. If she wanted to enter again, she would have to break the formation once more.
But to break the formation again, even with the Taiji Eight Trigrams Diagram she now possessed, would require great effort. Her main objective had been achieved, and there was nothing she absolutely had to take. There was no need to expend that effort.
Mo Tiange sighed at the restriction sealing the cultivation chamber entrance and decided to let it be. Even if there was something she hadn't chosen well, it was just some materials. It wasn't as if she was desperately short of those.
Thinking this, she sat down cross-legged in the valley outside the cultivation chamber and began studying the newly obtained jade slips.
First, she took up the record of Mo Yaoqing's life experiences. Infusing it with her Divine Sense, this information appeared in her mind.
"My name is Mo Yaoqing. Originally a cultivator from Yunzhong, possessing a Pure Yin constitution and dual Spirit Roots, I entered the righteous path's Danxia Sect in my youth, becoming a disciple under Perfected One Qixia..." What followed was a detailed account of some of her experiences within the sect.
Mo Tiange grew more and more astonished as she read. According to Mo Yaoqing, Yunzhong was completely different from the Tianji Region. In the Tianji Region's cultivation world, besides Daoist cultivators, there were only a small number of Confucian school cultivators. The demonic path was suppressed north of Tianmo after the Great War between Righteous and Demonic. Demonic cultivators were only active in the forests south of Kunwu. But in Yunzhong, practitioners of the Dao, Demonic, Buddhist, Confucian, and Demonic paths all lived mixed together. Although Daoist cultivators still held absolute dominance, occasional disputes arose between paths, but usually they coexisted peacefully.
Yunzhong was vast, with numerous spiritual veins, unlike the Tianji Region where they were basically all concentrated in Kunwu. Therefore, their number of cultivators was far greater than in the Tianji Region...